1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to technologies for managing, monitoring, and gathering information regarding electronics, mechanical, and software configurations of complex configurable products such as computers, servers, switches, routers, etc.
2. Background of the Invention
Many modern technology systems such as computers, web servers, telephone switches, Internet routers, test equipment, manufacturing control systems, etc., are configurable as to their electronic, mechanical and software components. For example, a personal computer is configurable to meet the needs of the user or customer by adding circuit cards (e.g. PCI or EISA graphics cards, LAN interface cards, etc.), additional integrated circuits in sockets (e.g. memories, coprocessors, etc.), software components (e.g. application programs, drivers, utilities, etc.), and even mechanical components (e.g. panels, covers, brackets, etc.). Many products adopt configurable architectures to enable modular assembly techniques, cost reduction, and field upgradability.
As such, many systems are originally delivered by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (“OEM”) with “known” configuration. The OEM may retain records as to the configuration of each unit, tracked by order number, customer number, and/or base system serial number, for future reference. For example, a purchaser of a system may request some time after delivery service of a configurable component, or upgrade of the system. In order to accurately fulfill the need, the OEM must consult its records regarding the original configuration of the system, or manually verify the configuration of the system.
Because many of these systems are designed as “open” architectures in which users or third-party companies may perform upgrades and service to various components, a system's configuration may evolve after delivery to a customer or user. Thus, the OEM's configuration records for each such machine become out of date and inaccurate, making it difficult or even impossible to provide accurate and quick fulfillment of upgrade and service needs of the customer. Although this problem is true for many types of computing, electronic, industrial and communications equipment, this situation is especially applicable to computer configurations for personal computers and server computers. In computing parlance, the configuration of a system is often referred to as the “feature content”, and the configuration computer platform is often referred to as the “machine”.
In order to change the feature content or to process model upgrades to complex configured systems, it is a business requirement to know the current configuration or “starting point” of the target machine to be modified. It is well known that the networked world, with its unprecedented premium on speed, demands a heightened and relentless focus on quality. Attempts to upgrade or replace components which are not successful may result in unnecessary system downtime, expense, and risk.
Some suppliers and service providers of such configurable systems have resorted manually intensive procedures, wherein a technician visits a site to perform an “inventory” of a system configuration, or the system must be shipped back to a service depot or manufacturer's facilities. For cost and inconvenience reasons, these two approaches are rarely acceptable to many customers.
Some companies such as International Business Machines (“IBM”) have instituted use of electronic configuration records, or “installed machine inventory records”, which are maintained in a database (or multiple databases) by IBM. However, installed machine inventory records are often inaccurate and an inadequate representation of current customer installed system configurations, due to the ability of parties to make configuration changes and upgrades, especially software modifications, without coordinating with or cooperating with the manufacturer's processes for updating the installed machine inventor records. Business partners may perform upgrades or repairs, the customer may relocate components (e.g. swap components from one machine to another), and other manufacturers may supply upgrades, all “out of the loop” of the process designed to track each machine's configuration.
Concurrently, increased dependencies on Business Partners in support of Manufacturing, Sales, and Service has created greater demand and need for a simple and accurate process to determine the starting configuration of customer installed systems. Configured hardware and software data used to create starting point inputs in the Sales and Manufacturing configuration processes are obtained from multiple sources in today's end-to-end process, and are often inaccurate. As such, manually intensive and costly processes in each service region are still required in an attempt to maintain data integrity of configuration records.
Customers require, over time, to increase computer capacity and function of their computer systems. IBM is somewhat unique in the method presently employed to provide increased capacity and function to systems by using an “MES/upgrade” process, which requires “starting point” input data accuracy. Many competitors in the same market segment have elected to use a “box swap” order process methodology, in which a replacement system is configured to mimic a desired upgraded original system, the replacement system is then installed in place of the original system, and the original system is taken out of service and returned to the manufacturer for recycling of components for other replacement systems. Tracking warranty status of such “swapped” systems is especially difficult, as each “upgrade” to a customer's system may result in every component of the system being exchanged for components of differing ages, revision level, in-service time, serial numbers, etc.
Additionally, even with a box swap approach, manual configuration verification is often employed to make absolutely certain that the replacement system is an accurate upgrade configuration from the original system's configuration.
An advantage of the IBM MES/Upgrade process is that it provides a systematic process of obtaining installed configuration information via utilization of machine sensed and reported configuration information, also known as Vital Product Data (“VPD”). The MES/Upgrade process benefits over box swapping are in the area of preserving a machine serial number (and serial numbers for components within the system) as part of investment protection offerings (e.g. warranties, service plans, etc.).
VPD information is especially useful for high volume products within IBM. However, the volume of machines sold and deployed through such a successful company as IBM prohibit easy and cost effective collection, storage, and subsequent sharing of this information. For this reason, the VPD information is obtained on an “engagement basis” (e.g. at the time a need is determined such as at the time an upgrade order is placed).
Collection of VPD information can be difficult and incomplete, even with the best available tools designed to semiautomatically collect such information. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system which more efficiently collects system configuration information on an “engagement basis”, in a manner which facilitates and supports high dependency of original equipment manufacturers on business partners and third party vendors, but which avoids adding significant cost, complexity or failure rate to configurable systems, and which avoids intensive manual inventorying activities.